GRC signs agreement for research project supported by European Commission
The Gulf Research Center (GRC) has signed an agreement with the European Commission to conduct a two-year project related to relations between the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the European Union.
The project will run under the name of the ‘EU-GCC Al-Jisr Project for Public Diplomacy and Outreach devoted to the European Union and EU-GCC relations.
The project is financially supported by the European Commission.
In addition to the Gulf Research Center, the project is composed of a consortium of both Gulf-based and European institutions including the Center for European Policy Studies - CEPS (Belgium), the European Institute for Asian Studies (Belgium), the Arab Reform Initiative - ARI (France), Sciences Po (France), the Bertelsmann Foundation (Germany), the National Technical University of Athens (Greece), the Istituto Affari Internazionale - IAI (Italy), Kuwait University (Kuwait), the Institute for Diplomatic Studies (Saudi Arabia), and the Fundación para la Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior - FRIDE (Spain).
The Al-Jisr project’s main objective is threefold.
Firstly, it aims to enhance public as well as professional knowledge and understanding of the European Union, its policies and institutions, among GCC citizens.
Secondly, it strives to strengthen reflection and debate about EU-GCC relations and contribute to the future of policy-making between the two regions.
Third, closer links between the EU and the GCC will be ensured through the dissemination of information on the EU.
The project consists of five main components including training and workshop activities, the translation of key textbooks on the European Union into Arabic and a project website used for the dissemination of information about the GCC in addition to the project’s activities.
Within the framework of al-Jisr, a major research project will focus on the challenge and potential of economic growth and diversification in the GCC, including an analysis of how the benefits of the expected GCC-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) can best be reaped.
Commenting on the signature of the contract, GRC Chairman Abdulaziz Sager stated that this was an important step to further GCC-EU relations and that with the project announcement, the European Commission has provided a strong signal to explore areas that will be mutually beneficial for both sides.
‘We now look forward to engaging in the various activities and to provide a real contribution to the enhancement of relations,’ Sager stated.
The Gulf Research Center was the only Gulf-based research organization selected for this honor with its proposal receiving high marks from the Commission.
Tags: GRC, Gulf Research Center
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